Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Tuesday Notes
As much as I praised his writing style on Friday, here’s an example of why people think beat writers, if not members of the media in general, can be a pain in the ass.
And the big, grand conclusion (last three paragraphs) of the piece are a prime example of trying to make a big story out of a non-issue.
A bigger concern for Boston is how much longer they’re going to continue to de-value their best pitcher by keeping him out of the starting rotation? Of course, maybe he doesn’t have the capability to pitch seven innings in a row right now. Either way, it's not a good situation for them right now.
If I Can’t Change Your Mind
I thought the call reversal in the top of the 9th at Fenway last night was a bad thing. What can I say… I know the spirit of the game would say that you want to get the call right, no matter how many umps’ opinions are involved. But first off, it is inconclusive if they even got the call right in the end.
It was a bang-bang play at the bag, and after watching every replay that NESN offered I, along with Remy and Orsillo at least, could not say definitively, without a scintilla of doubt, what the correct call was.
I have never seen a home plate umpire get involved in a play at one of the bags like that, and overrule the original call. Fly balls around the foul pole? A couple times a season. Runners inside/outside the base lines? Occasionally. But a safe/out call, especially a close play, on the bases? Never.
If Dana DeMuth never made the original call, pleading an obstructed view, a lapse in concentration or momentary blindness, that’s one thing. He made a call on a close play that initially at least he seemed pretty confident with.
That confidence quickly descended to doubt as Schilling and Francona argued vehemently, and plate umpire Laz Diaz conferred he saw, from about 90 feet away, Schilling catch the ball and hit the bag with his right foot before Lugo hit first. The call was reversed, the inning was over, a run didn’t score, Lou Pinella put on a mini-show, was tossed, and it was onto the bottom of the 9th with the Rays still up 3-1 instead of 4-1.
Like I said the “as long as we get the call right” mentality among umpires which has developed over the last decade or so is a good thing on the whole. But what are their boundaries for this type of thing? I don’t know what the answer to that is, but I felt the boundaries were pushed a little too far last night.
Lefty Impresses
Scott Kazmir was standing out on the Fenway Park mound last night at about 7:30 or so with a tough outing staring him in the face. It was the bottom of the 1st; he had thrown 25 pitches already; he had just walked Varitek and Millar back-to-back to load the bases; and had to face Trot Nixon with two outs and a run already in.
After getting ahead in the count 1-2, he zipped a low-90s fastball on the inner part of the plate, and Nixon swung late, maybe looking for junk away.
It was a huge moment of the game for Kazmir, who proceeded to shutout the Sox the rest of the way. After that shaky one-hit, three-walk, one-run opening frame, the lefty went on to throw one of his best games of the season. His post-1st inning line:
Jason Rennie, who runs a blog here, posted in the comment field under the “Yankees in First” post on Baseball Musings that Kazmir has had success overall against Boston: 27.1 IP, 1.32 ERA, .174 BAA
O’s Active as Deadline Approaches
When’s the last time that happened? A lot of chatter about A.J. Burnett going to the Orioles. While I don’t there there’s any need for Sox and Yankee fans to be shaking in their boots about this possibility, it can’t hurt the O’s chances.
I write this despite the fact that Dave Pinto pointed out today that Burnett has been dismal lately, noting that he has a 7.04 ERA in July.
With the successful return of Erik Bedard off the DL last night in Minnesota (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K), the O’s have already gotten a shot in the arm. Picking up Burnett would allow them to move Sidney Ponson to the pen and give them a starting five of Burnett/Bedard/Chen/Lopez/Cabrera. That’s not terrible, and certainly the kind of staff, when paired with that offense, that will keep them in the mix for the rest of the summer.
As much as I praised his writing style on Friday, here’s an example of why people think beat writers, if not members of the media in general, can be a pain in the ass.
And the big, grand conclusion (last three paragraphs) of the piece are a prime example of trying to make a big story out of a non-issue.
A bigger concern for Boston is how much longer they’re going to continue to de-value their best pitcher by keeping him out of the starting rotation? Of course, maybe he doesn’t have the capability to pitch seven innings in a row right now. Either way, it's not a good situation for them right now.
If I Can’t Change Your Mind
I thought the call reversal in the top of the 9th at Fenway last night was a bad thing. What can I say… I know the spirit of the game would say that you want to get the call right, no matter how many umps’ opinions are involved. But first off, it is inconclusive if they even got the call right in the end.
It was a bang-bang play at the bag, and after watching every replay that NESN offered I, along with Remy and Orsillo at least, could not say definitively, without a scintilla of doubt, what the correct call was.
I have never seen a home plate umpire get involved in a play at one of the bags like that, and overrule the original call. Fly balls around the foul pole? A couple times a season. Runners inside/outside the base lines? Occasionally. But a safe/out call, especially a close play, on the bases? Never.
If Dana DeMuth never made the original call, pleading an obstructed view, a lapse in concentration or momentary blindness, that’s one thing. He made a call on a close play that initially at least he seemed pretty confident with.
That confidence quickly descended to doubt as Schilling and Francona argued vehemently, and plate umpire Laz Diaz conferred he saw, from about 90 feet away, Schilling catch the ball and hit the bag with his right foot before Lugo hit first. The call was reversed, the inning was over, a run didn’t score, Lou Pinella put on a mini-show, was tossed, and it was onto the bottom of the 9th with the Rays still up 3-1 instead of 4-1.
Like I said the “as long as we get the call right” mentality among umpires which has developed over the last decade or so is a good thing on the whole. But what are their boundaries for this type of thing? I don’t know what the answer to that is, but I felt the boundaries were pushed a little too far last night.
Lefty Impresses
Scott Kazmir was standing out on the Fenway Park mound last night at about 7:30 or so with a tough outing staring him in the face. It was the bottom of the 1st; he had thrown 25 pitches already; he had just walked Varitek and Millar back-to-back to load the bases; and had to face Trot Nixon with two outs and a run already in.
After getting ahead in the count 1-2, he zipped a low-90s fastball on the inner part of the plate, and Nixon swung late, maybe looking for junk away.
It was a huge moment of the game for Kazmir, who proceeded to shutout the Sox the rest of the way. After that shaky one-hit, three-walk, one-run opening frame, the lefty went on to throw one of his best games of the season. His post-1st inning line:
IP H R ER BB KSo much for the Red Sox “hitting, walking and scoring all night long,” as I suggested yesterday.
5 2 0 0 3 6
Jason Rennie, who runs a blog here, posted in the comment field under the “Yankees in First” post on Baseball Musings that Kazmir has had success overall against Boston: 27.1 IP, 1.32 ERA, .174 BAA
O’s Active as Deadline Approaches
When’s the last time that happened? A lot of chatter about A.J. Burnett going to the Orioles. While I don’t there there’s any need for Sox and Yankee fans to be shaking in their boots about this possibility, it can’t hurt the O’s chances.
I write this despite the fact that Dave Pinto pointed out today that Burnett has been dismal lately, noting that he has a 7.04 ERA in July.
With the successful return of Erik Bedard off the DL last night in Minnesota (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K), the O’s have already gotten a shot in the arm. Picking up Burnett would allow them to move Sidney Ponson to the pen and give them a starting five of Burnett/Bedard/Chen/Lopez/Cabrera. That’s not terrible, and certainly the kind of staff, when paired with that offense, that will keep them in the mix for the rest of the summer.
